New Glarus Brewing Co. to Use Burlington-Made Bottles

Their slogan is "Only in Wisconsin". Now New Glarus Brewing Co. is taking that seriously when it comes to their bottles.

The brewery used to get their bottles from Virginia but moving forward the company will be buying them from Burlington.

New Glarus Brewing Co. officials estimate this change will bring about $6 million dollars worth of business to Wisconsin.

But it also looks like it's going to be a point of pride for some people living in Burlington. At least that's how the owner of Burlington's "Rice's Liquors & Cigars" is looking at it.

"And the local employees are very proud of the bottles that they do make. And they walk in and they will tell you 'Yeah, we make that bottle'. I've learned a lot about glass just based off the employees stopping in," Jim Jante, owner of Rice's Liquors & Cigars, said.

New Glarus Brewing Co. expects to buy about 42 million bottle per year from Ardagh Group which has a glass manufacturing plant in Burlington.

Brewery President and Founder Deb Carey said the move is a part of their goal to stay local and shrink their carbon footprint.

Almost poetically she highlighted the "trust" the brewery has to have when making the deal. In a statement she wrote: "Glass is a vitally important component of brewing. It is the vessel you hold in your hand, it often touches your mouth, it is both strong and brittle, it holds our beer."

The glass manufacturing faculty in Burlington employs about 400 people. Company officials say it is in constant use and runs 24 hours a day.